GMA names new NTC commissioner

President Arroyo named yesterday lawyer Ronald Olivar Solis as commissioner of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in place of Armi Jane Borje.

The appointment papers of Solis were signed by Mrs. Arroyo last Jan. 8, but the office of Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo released them only yesterday.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the removal of Borje had nothing to do with the incident in Honolulu where Filipino telecommunications executives attending a conference were summoned to appear before a grand jury.

Borje’s being a member of the Jesus is Lord movement of Eddie Villanueva also has nothing to do with her dismissal, Bunye added.

The Honolulu case involves a dispute between American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) and Philippine carriers over an increase in call rates from the US.

Borje was supposed to have worked out a settlement of the dispute.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Albert said the government will take up the cudgels for the Philippine carriers involved in the dispute.

"We are fully behind the industry," she said. "We will do everything we can to help them. The entire government is behind them to address this as soon as possible."

Albert said the US government has not yet "addressed" the concerns raised by the Philippines regarding the controversial case.

"We would like to clear up our queries, our concerns," she said. "We had emphasized to the US government our particular dismay over the fact that the carriers themselves from the Philippines and the US were settling this matter amicably with the assistance of both governments."

Albert said US authorities prepared for the case based on the manner and method they had used in serving the subpoenas on 30 Filipino telecommunications executives.

"Our own inquiries on the decision of the US Department of Justice to initiate this grand jury investigation causes no further concern," she said.

"However, we prefer to hear the official reply of the US government to the representations we had made before we draw any further conclusions."

Acting Justice Secretary Merceditas Gutierrez said less than 10 of the 30 Filipino telecommunications executives are still in Hawaii to face a federal grand jury.

The others were able to fly back to the Philippines before Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents had served them the subpoenas.

She would "get in touch immediately with my counterpart in the US Department of Justice to find out why the investigation is being conducted," Gutierrez added.

Mrs. Arroyo has ordered justice and foreign affairs officials to work out the immediate return of the Filipino telecommunications executives remaining in Honolulu.

"The justice and foreign departments must exhaust all diplomatic and legal remedies to ensure that our telecom executives are treated well, that their rights are protected and finally, to bring them back to the country in the soonest possible time," she said in a statement from Malacañang.

Bunye said Washington must make a formal apology to the Filipino telecommunications executives.

"I think the US government owes an explanation and even an apology to our business executives because these issues on the telecom question have already been resolved," he said.

"And the treatment they (FBI officials) inflicted upon our businessmen was not just, and our government has already officially conveyed our dismay through the Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert who summoned US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone, and it is only but appropriate for the US government (to) make an explanation."

Ambassador to Washington Albert del Rosario said the US Department of Justice wants to question the Filipino executives whether there were violations of the US anti-trust law on the increase of termination rates by Philippine carriers.

"We are taking the position that this is unfounded and totally baseless because the (Federal Communications Commission) and the NTC have forged an agreement on what should be done, which is to allow Philippine telecom (companies) to initiate an agreement — privately and freely — to this termination agreement," he said.

"I think all of the agreements, if I’m not mistaken, have already concluded in compliance with FCC and NTC. The investigation that is being conducted, we protested strongly as unfounded and baseless."

Bunye said Mrs. Arroyo’s demand that the US government explain the incident in Honolulu was in no way an interference with the powers of that US government agency.

"We are not questioning the powers of the US justice department, but we are disappointed at the manner and the timing of the serving of the summons in this particular case," he said.

"There could have been more deference to the long-standing goodwill and relations between the Philippines and the US.

"(And) the President feels strongly about the incident because our telecom executives were harassed and embarrassed in Hawaii in front of their foreign counterparts."

The Filipino executives were attending a telecommunications conference in Honolulu over the weekend when FBI agents handed them summonses to appear as witnesses before a Honolulu grand jury this week.

The inquiry apparently focuses on an accusation by US firms last year that several Filipino companies had unfairly raised rates on calls coming from the United States.

US Embassy spokesmen could not be contacted for comment. — Marichu Villanueva, Marvin Sy, AFP